The invention is directed to an automatic grain spout on a combine unloading auger which opens when the auger is in motion and closes when the auger is not in motion, so as to prevent the loss of any grain situated in the auger when the auger stops turning. All of the combines on the market today merely disengage the drive on the auger after the auger is utilized. All of the grain remaining in the horizontal auger tube is left between the auger flights and the auger housing which gradually leaks out the discharge opening, between the auger flights and the housing as the combine moves across a typical rough surface grain field. While the rate at which the grain leaks from the auger is small, it is a continuous loss and over a period of time amounts to a substantial number of bushels of grain wasted on the ground. The closing spout of the present invention prevents this gradual loss by sealing the auger opening with a collecting bucket which retains all of the grain which has vibrated or leaked its way past the flights of the auger. When the auger is again actuated, it will fill the collecting bucket until there is a sufficient weight or force from the moving grain to overcome the counterweights which are holding the spout closed at which time the collecting bucket swings open and remains in this position as long as there is a substantial flow of grain out the discharge opening. When the auger is disengaged, the empty collecting bucket swings upward to its closed position until the auger is again actuated.
The universal closing spout of the present invention can be adjusted with the use of shims to fit differing diameter auger housings.
It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide an automatic grain closing spout for use on combine unloading augers which is actuated by the weight of grain or absence thereof in the auger.
Another object of the present invenion is to provide an automatic closing spout which can be universally used on all combines.